STORY: "Kings Cross St. Pancras: Officers But Are They Gentlemen?"

One hot shot woman + Two hot shot pilots = Threesome fun.

The eagerly awaited fourth title in the London Lovers’ Ground series is set in the bustling Kings Cross and neighbouring St. Pancras station area. Trying to shake off its notorious vice hotspot label, a number of high-end hotels and restaurants have opened around the stations. All rather convenient for our sassy vixen Lisa Thornton to have her wicked way with the two young officers!

When Lisa retires after dinner to the swanky Kings Cross hotel lounge that she’s staying in, herself and her friend Jill meet two dashing young RAF helicopter pilots enjoying their last weekend of leave before deploying to Afghanistan. Within minutes, they’re enthralled as the young pilots reveal the realities of combat rescue missions and life in a war zone. 

With Jill rushing to catch her last train home, Lisa and the two pilots continue talking but it becomes evident that Lisa is interested in more than mere conversation. Things heat up so much in the lounge, that Lisa’s smouldering attraction for both officers takes them to her hotel room where their all-out lust explodes! With Lisa’s train to Paris leaving in a matter of hours, there’s no other option. She orders her hot shot pilots to go full-throttle on their time-critical mission: HER!

With all three of them determined to make each moment count, the trio use everything in their arsenals to make it a night to remember. With charm, champagne, and a chaise longue all being used to full effect – not to mention a king-sized bed – Lisa, Thom and Andy make sure all are put to good use before Lisa heads to the station to begin her journey.

This 10,500 (approx.) word adult erotic story includes threesome sex, fellatio, cunnilingus, lingerie, and some wickedly fun dialogue, as befits Lisa’s sass and cheeky humour. And there’s a provocative and unexpected twist at the end for good measure!

EXCERPT:-

Coming up for air, I looked into Andy’s eyes once more. I assumed the smile on my face was as wide as the Channel Tunnel itself. This was the sort of escapade hotels were designed for - or damn well should be.
As his hands moved under my short black jacket once more – I’m surprised he hadn’t taken it off before now – his fluid, almost effortless movements halted abruptly as the loud knock on the door came.
“Shit. Who the hell could that be?” I asked innocently, looking over Andy’s shoulder towards the door.

“I don’t know, but they bloody well chose the wrong time.”
“Don’t say a thing,” he whispered, “Maybe they’ll go away or realise they’ve got the wrong room or something.”
The second rat-a-tat against the door dispelled any notion that the interrupter had slunk off.
Andy looked at me. Was he awaiting orders like an obedient young officer?
“Well, I’m not answering the door with my hair like this,” I replied melodramatically, ignoring the fact that I was the one still fully clothed.
“You go. You can be my naked butler,” I winked.
“You’re going to pay for that,” Andy retorted conspiratorially. His well-timed squeeze of my derriere emphasised the point, before releasing his impressive grip on my arse and heading to the door. I sidestepped to get a clearer view of the door as Andy pulled it open.
“Hello Passion Pants!” exclaimed Thom.
“What the hell…”
“Hi there, Lisa. Flyboy reporting for duty,” announced Sutherland, nonchalantly planting a smacker on Andy’s cheek for good measure, chuckling loudly, as he brushed past his flying partner into my room. Placing the champagne, ice bucket and glasses onto the table, he turned around, grinning.
Andy’s face was something – a mix of surprise, shock, and possible disappointment too perhaps? It wasn’t that hard to imagine; he thought he had me all to his own. Poor boy. He had no idea that one flyboy wouldn’t be enough. Not by a long shot.
As if to rub it in, Thom waved the napkin I’d left on the table in front of Andy’s face, before handing it to him. Still laughing, he looked around the room, taking it all in. By the expression on his face, he liked the look of my large executive room. He wasn’t the only one: I’d found it a delightful base for my short stay.
Thom’s gaze eventually turned to me.
“Come over here Thom,” I beckoned. “Don’t you think you should catch up? Andy needs some time to acquaint himself with the mission.” Glancing at the mirror, I could see that despite them being kissed and sucked on intently for the last fifteen minutes, my vamped up red lips had not lost any of their colour: God bless modern cosmetics.
Andy meanwhile stayed rooted at the spot beside the door. Reading intently, he got up to speed. 
‘Hey Flyboy. Andy exfiltrated me to Room 241. Cum ‘Search and Rescue’ me! Full tank necessary. Clothes optional.’ 
I had to admit: my red lips made one hell of a signature at the bottom on the napkin.
“I’ll say one thing Lisa,” chuckled Andy, “you certainly have a way with words.”
“I’ve got a way with willies, as well.”

How does the story end?  Very messily and exhaustedly! And with a final surprise in store! 

Blog Hop: Tag! You're It!

A few weeks ago I was asked by the delightful Angel Gone Bad (watch out, she’s a handful!) if I’d be one of her victi…er I mean recipients of the baton so to speak of the ‘Blog Hop’ that’s been doing its rounds through the smut writing fraternity.

 

What’s a ‘blog hop’? 

A writer answers a few questions about their work, and in turn passes on the baton to not one, but three other smut writers to do the same for the following week. Their names are announced at the bottom of the blog post, thus priming the reader for what’s going to follow, and also plugging the writer along the way. Additional tweets help spread the word.

So without further ado, here are those questions and my responses; I hope you find them interesting.

What are you working on right now? 
It’s all systems go right now, with several things going on. After a hiatus of a few months (writing had to be put to one side whilst real life interfered with my plans for world smut domination), I finally got back to writing in the last week or two, and have just finished a story I’d originally started back in March. It’s another one of my saucy London Lovers’ Ground series that focuses on a particular locale / station in the city. This time it’s the one and only “Kings Cross St Pancras” – make of that what you will! More details will be coming out in the next few days so keep your eyes open for more details here.

There’s also some cover redesigns for the first three LLG stories coming up as well – to make them sexier and more alluring – you can’t go wrong with black, haha!

Finally, as there’s already three ‘green’ LLG stories available, I’m going to release them together in a juicy threesome offer, which will be priced more competitively than if buying them all singly.

So that’s what immediately is on my plate – needless to say, with the smut writing mojo back, there are a whole bunch of forthcoming LLG titles already conceived and will be getting fired out over the next few months. There’s also a few more Crash! Bang! Wallop! stories I want written at some point. Some are in response to reader feedback, such as Parts II and III of ‘Stuck At A Desk’  (you know who you are, haha!) and there’s a REALLY hardcore BDSM / humiliation tale coming up which may finish off the CBW series….who knows.

How does it differ from other work in its genre? 

Being a marketer as well as an erotica writer, this is where I have to put my money where my mouth is! Firstly in terms of the cover design, I wanted a very distinct and recognisable identity for both the LLG and CBW series. With the LLG, there are different coloured lines each dedicated to a particular naughty theme, so there are coloured sub-identities going on there as well. 

The same goes for font choice. Like any good brand building, there has to be consistency and the right fonts have to be chosen: different fonts have different ‘personalities’ and the wrong ones will do more damage than good. Unfortunately, from an overall category perspective, the majority of erotica writers appear to pay lip service to such things. I’m not saying my covers are fantastic – but they’re distinct and aren’t cringeworthy like the ‘cheap clip art and dodgy font’ covers that are commonplace. If the story is good, why let it down with a crap cover?!

In terms of the writing itself, I make sure there are no corny character names or dialogue spoken between them. I want the scenarios and the characters to be believable and realistic. The types of people you see on the tube or pass by on the streets of London are the same types you find in my books. I’m not knocking fantasy erotica writers – different strokes for different folks – but just like in porn, there’s a huge appeal for the realistic ‘boy/girl next door’ type of characters, rather than those from another world.

Finally, to date my books have all been set in London. I’m not sure (but open to correction) there are other writers who have focused on London - or any other city for that matter – in their writing.

Whilst each of these factors may not in themselves be unique, they combine to form a unique proposition. 

Why do you write what you do? 
This can be answered in different ways. Firstly, I write erotica to earn a living. Some people write erotica for the sheer pleasure of it. That’s wonderful, but I’m focused on both.

Regarding the types of story or themes included, this is a case of writing what interests / excites me. If you’re passionate about something, it makes it so much easier to work with. But I also don’t forget this is a revenue stream – and what I write has also got to excite others too. Understanding what readers want to read and are happy paying for is a key reason for me designing and launching the Erotica Reader Survey – I want to know what smut readers want in their stories. And as I’ve said before, the key findings will be posted on the blog for all and sundry to digest. From the responses so far I can breathe a sigh of relief: a lot of things that do it for me personally and in my writing, are shared by many others! 

How does your writing process work? 
I tend to have everything thought out before I start typing the first words. Locations, plot, characters, the sex acts, are all thought about and a clear direction identified. With that foundation set, I’m free to sprinkle some extra bits and bobs where appropriate as I write. In this respect I treat my erotica writing like I do my marketing reports or university essays from decades past. I know how the story is going to pan out, I know the ins and outs (stop sniggering!), I’ve got the character personas established, etc. I even have a spreadsheet containing a whole bunch of questions to help with character building. What do they like and dislike? What’s their profession? What kind of clothes would I expect them to be wearing? What kind of personality do they have? How do I think this person will react in a given situation? What turns them on?

To some it might sound a bit anal, but ‘knowing’ this much about my characters helps me enormously, particularly when it comes to dialogue and behaviour in the story. It also allows me to keep things fresh; I don’t want the main character in one story be identical to another – particularly when there are so many variables one can play with when creating good, believable, naughty characters.

Having these things already clear in my mind before I start writing the story is critical. In fact I can’t imagine writing any other way. Once I’ve got all that framework in place, the actual writing is easier: that’s the theory anyway! 

So, there you have it; a bit more of me revealed! If you enjoyed this and want a bit more of an insight into how I roll, then comment on it, and let’s see what happens. 

Now: who’s next on the Blog Hop, I hear you ask? My three naughty minded writers keeping the hop going are:-

Danielle Austen, author of “The Prophecy Girl Trilogy” stories http://www.danielle-austen.com 

Anita Bush, author of “The Erotic Musings of an Ordinary Girl” http://anitabushauthor.wordpress.com

And yes, I realise that's just TWO! I'm waiting on a response from my third target....

 

And of course thanks to Angel Gone Bad in the first place: catch more of her naughty antics at: http://angelgonebad.blogspot.co.uk

 

New Book, New Look, New Offer!

Yay! After several months of real life intruding with neighbours being wankers, and other trials and tribulations causing my smut mojo to disappear…… we’re back, Baby!

At about 0315 hrs on Wednesday morning, I finally finished the story I’d been working on back in March. It’s a bit of a belter if I say so myself. But then I would say that, wouldn’t I ?

With about four edits already completed, and with a final look-over or two just remaining, I’ll shortly be giving it the rubber stamp and getting started on the Amazon upload process. That’s assuming Amazon by now haven’t started throwing their toys out of the pram with EVERYTHING erotica-related. If so, then we’re all really screwed, lol.

It’s another in the London Lovers’ Ground series of spicy stories set among London’s many different locales. Coming in at around 10,500 words, I think it’s my second longest story (after Hi-Jinks In Hull, from the Crash! Bang! Wallop! series). As per previous stories, it’ll have its own blog post; probably an ‘Extra Sauce’ post to keep it company as well. So I won’t wax lyrical about it right now. But if you’re a fan of multiple miscreants as well as multiple orgasms, then there’s a treat in store for you!

With the new book, there’s also a new look revealed. The earlier LLG stories - Bayswater, Paddington, and Earl’s Court – will also be receiving respective cover re-designs. There’s nothing earth shattering about them, but they’re certainly more jazzed up and dare I say it, more enticing, than the previous ones: which in retrospect isn’t that hard to imagine!

Finally, for threesome fans, cough…ahem… - I mean books, you filthy muckers! - I’m going to be releasing the first three LLG stories – as a multi-pack book. Exact pricing still TBC, but I’m probably going to offer it for less than buying the three stories separately. Amn’t I nice?!

This is all going to be happening in the next week or two so if you want to stay in the loop, you can either keep checking my Tweets or to be on the safe side subscribe to my site here, and you’ll be automatically notified when there’s something said.

Thanks for reading – this and my smutty stories!  

AB

Erotica Writing Dilemmas

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Ooops. My bad. Well what can I say. I look back on my last blog post, full of noble thoughts. Then I ruefully ponder the accuracy of the saying ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’. Hmm. Then I consider that AC/DC wrote that belter of a song, “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be”, so I guess at least I’m in fine company if it really hits the fan.

Anyway. In my last post I reckoned that my mojo was back. It wasn’t. It’s hard to get in the mood for writing smut when you’ve got a neighbour from hell: one that requires one’s guard to never be lowered, whilst his passive aggressive bullshit and borderline OCD for opening and closing doors has me thinking – and enjoying - violent thoughts rather than erotic ones.

I read an article recently that writers have it easy in one respect, in that when they’re struggling to get the words out on the keyboard, they can always cite “writer’s block”. Writers are the only breed who seem to get away with skipping work because they don’t ‘feel’ they’re able to – and it’s largely accepted.

Yet no other profession allows such a gratuitous cop-out. When did you last hear of an airline pilot turning up at the airport, looking up at a dark, rainy sky, shrugging his shoulders and saying to his co-pilot and his boss, “Nah, I don’t feel like flying today. I’m heading home.” Exactly. I could never imagine going up to my former bosses one day, telling them “I don’t feel I can work today. I’m perfectly fine, I’m not ill, but I just don’t feel the vibe.” I wouldn’t last long in that gig, that’s for sure. Neither would 99% of people.

But on the flip side, if writing erotica is a job – and I want it to be one, and therefore need to treat it AS one - then “writer’s block” has to be kicked to the kerb, surely? The obvious danger to this though is that one’s writing becomes deadline-driven and formulaic. There’s nothing wrong with a deadline; in fact I could seriously benefit from this.

But the risk of becoming formulaic is more worrying. Erotica guru Susie Bright warns of this – and quite rightly so. Maybe writing eight stories back to back burned me out. If this is the case – perish the thought – then it doesn’t bode well, when I have so many ideas for new stories. But if I’m to make a living being a professional smut-slinger, I need to be more productive, publishing more stories, selling more copies, and doing so regularly, week in, week out. No, there’s nothing formulaic about that, at all, is there? Gulp.

This is an overly simplistic view of things – it’s not quite as black and white as this. I love insight and research etc, and I can look at data tables, populate and interpret PowerPoint decks and present findings day after day. But it’s not something I have to get into a particular ‘vibe’ for. Yet this IS the case for erotica. To me it’s almost like Avatar, where the natives ‘plug’ their tails into the flying beasts’ thinghy and they’ve got this synergistic bond thing going on. In my case it’s my mind or fingers bonding with the laptop keyboard!

So in short, yes there needs to be regular output but writing erotica IS different from other professions. Like everything in life, there needs to be balance.

And as for my living arrangements, being so close to that cantankerous old twat affected my drive, focus, and enthusiasm regardless of whether I was writing smut or designing research surveys. Luckily, as you’ll have no doubt seen on Twitter, I’ve moved on and into a lovely new place. So that’s a major stressor now banished – now it’s just the usual ones to deal with! But I can safely say that the mojo HAS returned. It's good to be back. So watch out: there’s smut coming!

What’s new in the world of London smut writer Amelia Bryant?

June is almost upon us, not that you’d notice outside with some truly ungodly weather. I swear – it could be November or March outside. The rain’s chuffing down, the wind is howling. Not like the Mays I remember from decades past. The evenings would be sunny and mild and Yours Truly would be tormented by having to stay inside, revising – ha, CRAMMING more like – for school and university exams.

Anyway, smut has taken a back seat over the past couple of months as other things conspired to pull my thoughts away from the joys of filthy fucking and instead towards things that to be frank were much less interesting and much more tiresome.

That’s not to say I’ve not felt guilty about the lack of filth being created on my laptop. Far from it: I’d have loved to have had another bundle of exciting London erotica for your reading – and masturbatory – pleasure.

Maybe it was a mixture of already having written eight stories and subconsciously needing a break. Perhaps it was also a heap of other external baloney impacting my ability to get all jiggy in my head as well as on the keyboard. Possibly it was the culmination of over-doing it on Twitter and needing a break from the smut writing and promoting. I digress…

That said, there’s an important lesson to be learned for any aspiring smut authors out there. Only write when you’re in the right mood. If there’s shit going on in your life, or external factors affecting your mojo then don’t write. Don’t even begin to try. If you’re not in the mood, you’re not in the mood. Enjoy life’s other joys without thinking of self-imposed masochistic deadlines. Accept it, and wait for your mind and nether regions to tingle again and re-connect. It is as simple as that.  

So guess what? Mine have (about bloody time too!). Here’s what’s on the immediate agenda:-  

1. Complete the fourth London Lovers’ Ground (LLG) story which I’d got about one third of the way through. I’m not going to reveal too much now, but let’s just say that if you’re the sort of person who think’s “two’s company but three’s so much better”, then you’ll like this. Keep your eyes peeled on when everything’s ready (hopefully in the next ten days or so) as there will be some special promotions lined up.  

2. New sexier cover designs for all LLG titles.  

3. More LLG story writing. I’ve got some cracking story ideas featuring the capital’s favourite central locales already waiting to be unleashed. Needless to say the naughtiness will be there in absolute abundance!  

4. Fancy some ‘Crash! Bang! Wallop!’ ? It’s high time another CBW story or two is unleashed on the general smut-lovin’ public as well as the marketing research community, who seem rather bemused by it all. Of course, I’m far from complaining with increased Twitter followers, column inches, and sales! There are a few stories vying for my attention. There’s the second and third parts of the ‘Stuck At A Desk’ saga. There’s also a humdinger of a tale which I’m burning to get onto paper / your Kindle screen. It’s called ‘The Ten Commandments’ and it’s possibly going to make some people in the industry feel a tad uneasy. Alternatively, they might not give a shit – that wouldn’t surprise me either!  

5. More blogging! There’s a long overdue post – probably two – considering the pros and cons of social media (particularly Twitter), primarily based on my own personal observations and interactions. So watch out for those. Blogging also shouldn’t be one-way traffic: engaging with contributors is important. Furthermore, despite all the pressures of writing one’s own smut, it’s a good thing to visit the blogsites of fellow smut writers and responding to the ideas and opinions they’ve put out there.  


So there you have it: the battleplan for the next wee while. Do keep me company on the smut journey!

Free Erotica? Amelia Bryant Ponders The Problem With Price

Help or hindrance? Dangled carrot or sustained revenue killer? Is free erotica a problem or worth its weight in gold to the independent smut writer?

Whether dipping one’s proverbial tootsies into the erotica writing business, or being a seasoned pro, free online erotica is one issue bound to provoke reaction. Anyone seeking online smut to read on their PC or download to a phone or Kindle or similar e-book reader can either go to well known websites such as Literotica to access a plethora of free stories. Or they can go to Amazon and Smashwords and pay for the stories accessed (these sites also offer free stories).

But surely it must frustrate authors trying to earn a crust (never mind a fortune) from their writing, when facing so much competition from others offering their wares for nowt? Why do this?

Let’s consider the pertinent points. Firstly, cost. Once the book has been written, the formatting done and the cover designed and everything is uploaded, the costs of production (time, paper, print toner, fizzy pop and Chocolate Hob Nobs consumed while writing/typing) are incurred once and once only. There’s no marginal cost attached to subsequent sales made.  

A free book should help generate some buzz, shouldn’t it? ‘Buy my FREE steamy erotica tale on Amazon’ etc etc. Announce this on all the relevant social media channels and the express hope is that there’s a flurry of downloads which will a) keep the book in the top half of the Amazon sales lists, thereby achieving some visibility b) convince those readers to fork out for subsequent priced books.

But does it really work like this?

The problem is that such a simplistic viewpoint fails to take into account that thousands of other smut authors have exactly the same idea. The result: thousands of free stories. But the unavoidable fact is that there’s now an abundance of free erotica. And that spells trouble for the erotica writer seeking financial recompense for their efforts.  

I liken it to someone walking to work in the morning or heading out of the office for lunch. You’ll see coffee shop baristas offering samples of their latest blends. Perhaps you’ll see a deli shop offering passers-by a tiny bite of a new sandwich combo. You’ll be offered a tasty mouthful (stop sniggering at the back!) in the hope that you pop in to buy a full-sized sandwich the following day, or perhaps even there and then.  

There’s an implicit understanding operating: here’s a free sample to see if you like it, and if you do, you can have more. Much more. As much as you want in fact.  

But you’re going to have to pay for it.
  
However, there’s a segment of the smut-reading fraternity who say ‘Why should I pay for anything? There’s so much available already for free. What incentive is there to pay for it?’

Using my street food analogy once more, It’s the equivalent of the hungry office worker being able to walk along a street full of delis and coffee shops and receive enough small samples of coffee to equal a full cup, and enough small sandwich bites to make up a proper-sized sarnie. His or her thirst has been totally quenched and their appetite sated. And without having to pay for a damn thing! But to add insult to injury, they can return day in, day out and do exactly the same, because there’s an endless supply to enjoy. Now it’s a stretch to imagine this could happen in real life. But it IS happening online when it comes to reading erotica.

So, you’ve got a whole gamut of smut writers doing what they think is a sensible attempt at gaining some awareness and hopefully driving subsequent sales. Individually, not a bad idea. Collectively however, the overall effect is arguably detrimental.  

Now it’s important to recognise there are many erotica authors who write for the simple pleasure of writing and striking a chord with readers, who wish no reward for their efforts. They perhaps want to dip their toes in the bath or wish nothing more than to see their words stimulate, inspire and/or amuse others. And bless them for it.  

There will also be a large number of smut readers around the world who have no intention of paying as so much is already available. They want something which will get their juices going enough for some naughtiness and then, hey-ho, that was nice. Next!  

What is the split between those who will pay and those who won’t? For erotica writers wanting to earn a living doing this, the non-payers are of no concern. Well, I say that glibly: they ARE a concern if they constitute the majority. But professional erotica writers will focus their efforts on what they know paying customers will shell out for. That’s one of the reasons for the Erotica Reader Survey that’s currently live.  

Personally speaking, I value my time spent thinking about the story, planning it, doing a bit of research perhaps, developing some characters, before even getting down to writing it. And don’t forget about editing, re-writing if necessary, and formatting for Amazon, Smashwords etc. That’s a fair few hours. Most businesses would charge for their time and effort in producing the final product or service – why should erotica writers differ?  

I’d love to receive your comments on any of the points raised here and encourage some discussion on the topic. And keep your eyes peeled for a follow-up post in which I’ll talk about pricing approaches, strategies and tactics.

EXTRA Sauce! Bayswater: London Sex Writer Amelia Bryant’s Quick Guide

So if you’ve read my hot erotic story ‘Baring All In Bayswater’ perhaps you’d like to get a flavour of the area, especially if you’re not from London or you’re located thousands of miles away.

Photo: (c) Amelia Bryant

Located to the north of Kensington Gardens and west of Paddington, Bayswater is a lively, cosmopolitan hub. Most of the activity centres around the street named Queensway, which is crammed full of restaurants, international food shops, fast food joints and all the usual major retailers. In the picture (left) of Queensway you can make out the entrance to the large Whiteley Centre shopping mall and cinema - it's at the far right of the photo, white peaked with the flagpole.

Locals requiring some extra bedroom (or wherever) spice have a well-stocked Ann Summers store on Queensway to stock up on assorted naughtiness. And shock author confession – this is the store where I bought my first Rampant Rabbit!


   

Photo: (c) Amelia Bryant

The tube station is located just a little under halfway along. And it’s one of the best examples of the London Underground map (designed by engineer Harry Beck) not being topographically accurate. If you take a look at the tube map, you’ll see Queensway and Bayswater stations separated by what seems to be a reasonable distance. In fact you could walk between the stations in probably the same time as it would take you to read this blog posting. We’re talking only a couple of hundred yards, tops. 

Bayswater has something of an edgy reputation – just like its Australian equivalent (what is it with Sydney, trying to copycat London’s vice spots: King’s Cross AND Bayswater?!) Yes, it’s a hustling busting ‘never quiet’ area – Queensway certainly – but it is also renowned for its sexual commerce. Some of the nearby W2 streets are well known on the internet for the ‘services’ offered in some of the apartments, and police have broken up vice rings and brothels operating in the area.

Photo: (c) Amelia Bryant

The street is dominated by a couple of very big apartment blocks – Princess and Queen’s Courts. Queens Court is the location of Mia’s fictitious flat, located just yards to the south of the tube station. But it makes me smile mischievously. Queens Court (pictured left) is listed on many bulletin boards and online forums as the ‘Ground Zero’ for London escorts! One minute on a search engine duly upholds these assertions! 

And I actually know Queens Court rather well! I won’t reveal all, but I did date someone for a while who flat-shared there. I must admit: I never bumped into any exotic ladies all the times I was up and down in the lifts. Let’s just say that with the preponderance of genuine hotties that could often be seen walking along Queensway, it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. 

Anyway, I’ve got happy memories of Bayswater as you can imagine, and it made returning there for some photos a pleasure. The sights and smells took me back a few years. And yes, speaking purely objectively of course, yes there are still a veritable amount of hot-to-trot ladies there – ‘working’ or otherwise!


Have you read a juicy excerpt from my smutty Bayswater story? Read it now!


Or if you have already and liked it, then buy 'Baring All In Bayswater' at Amazon, dammit! ;-)


Watch out for accompanying ones for each new London Lovers' Ground story!

EXTRA Sauce! Earl's Court: London Sex Writer Amelia Bryant’s Quick Guide

So if you’ve read my short smutty story ‘Earl’s Court: Making an Exhibition Of Oneself’ perhaps you’d like to get a flavour as to the locale, especially if you’re not from London or you’re located thousands of miles away.

Located in the south west of central London between Cromwell Road and Old Brompton Road, Earl’s Court is know for a variety of things. The first, and probably the largest, is the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre - home to business expos (where my characters ‘Aussie’ Rob Sadler and Lorna Calderwood meet), home and leisure shows, and major rock concerts. In fact barely five days after moving to London all those years ago, I went to my first gig here – and what a night! I’m also no stranger to it for research/marketing expos etc. over the years.


The tube station is just across the road from the Centre – in fact this picture is taken from the station entrance. The other main entrance is on Earl’s Court Road – here.

Needless to say, the tube station can get pretty crowded when there’s a gig or expo on. Which in itself presents a fantastic opportunity to letch at some pretty hot talent! [Public transport confession time: I had a major snogging session on the westbound District line platform one cold February evening many moons ago. Ah, halcyon days!] 

Earl’s Court is also traditionally known to be a hang out for Australians living in the city. And escorts too, apparently! There are a lot of hostels and hotels in the area – of varying quality and price ranges.

Just a few yards along from the station is The Blackbird, the pub where my characters Rob and Lorna meet after the expo.

Earl’s Court has a number of gardens with bushes and trees lining the perimeter railings. The vast majority – if not all of them – are private, and only accessible under lock and key. So not every Tom, Dick and Harry can get it. But hey, perhaps from time to time people are careless, and in the case of Rob and Lorna…jackpot!

So where might the lust-filled pair have headed for their dusk debauchery: perhaps here?!


Have you read a juicy excerpt from my smutty Earl’s Court story? Read it now!

Or if you have already and liked it, then buy 'Earl's Court: Making An Exhibition Of Oneself' it at Amazon, dammit! ;-)

I hope you've enjoyed this little pictorial expedition into my setting for the book - watch out for accompanying ones for each new London Lovers' Ground story! 

Is Bigger Better?

I’m talking about numbers. More specifically, regarding smutty books. At this point in the game, what should the objective be?

I’ve got eight titles out there available at Amazon and Smashwords. That pretty much covers the main e-book distribution channels. Now, having listened to what the best in the business have to say, coupled with my own instincts as a professional marketer, I’m in a bit of a quandary.

Several smut writers have affirmed that for every ten books released there is a noticeable increase in overall sales. So should I be frantically typing out new material like there’s no tomorrow, to reach ten then twenty titles available? Listening to the voices of experience is never a bad thing.

But wait a moment.

Think of the erotica reading fraternity in quantity terms. If Fifty Shades of Grey and the e-reading factors have had the impact that we’re led to believe they have, that equates to one hell of a large potential readership out there.

So even if only a relatively small proportion of the total smut-buying market downloaded my stories, I’d certainly notice. In fact I’d be cock-a-hoop with the soaring sales figures.

So, the main question is this. With eight titles already on the virtual bookshop shelves, surely the focus should be on raising awareness and driving sales of the products already available rather than developing new ones? If readers do want to go on a mini splurge and download my other books, there’s seven of them. That’s good potential revenue in anyone’s eyes, considering the size of the market.

Interim data from the Erotica Reader Survey (not taken part yet, and love reading erotica? Please do the survey!) strongly suggests that once readers find an author they like, they’ll buy more of their stories. That’s reassuring to all writers. But readers aren’t going crazy and downloading EVERYTHING immediately. There’s a recession happening, remember. I compare it with a bricks and mortar shop, with the stock visible in the window and ready to be bought. It’s just that not enough people are looking at the shop window and coming inside.

What’s the point in writing another twenty books, if there’s still not enough (to my liking, anyway) people sniffing around and buying the first eight?

That’s not a product problem: it’s an awareness and communications issue.

That however, is for another blog post.

Amelia Bryant corrupts the UK marketing research industry!

It had to happen. No seriously; it really did. 

Take one imaginative - and pretty horny, if truth be told – marketing researcher with a penchant for fruity words and filthy thoughts.

Take an industry which (undeservedly) has its fair share of detractors, and which could collectively could do with a bit of TLC. Or failing that a good hard shag.

Well, it seems that Yours Truly’s naughty words have come to the attention of the research industry’s main trade publication – the cunningly titled (wait for it…) ‘Research’.
[The industry isn’t that unimaginative, honest!] 

Gracing the back page ‘Diary’ section which tends to paint a lighter note on research happenings, they’ve exposed the industry to a brief synopsis of my first story ‘Mirror Mirror’ in the Crash! Bang! Wallop! series, centred around the sexiest (albeit fictitious) London marketing research agency. 

A quarter of a page no less! Can you imagine how much that space would have cost in advertising terms?! Exactly. 

I'm a rather happy bonking bunny now!

Erotica Readers: Your Opinions Count!

Are erotic writers delivering what readers want?
How diverse are readers’ erotic reading habits?


The simple fact is that to a large extent nobody knows! And that’s bad for readers and writers alike.

Hence the reason for the Erotica Reader Survey, aimed at getting to the bottom of what readers of erotic stories really want and how they go about getting it. If you’re a reader of erotica, you now have the perfect opportunity to give your honest opinion on a whole host of areas relating to the writing, content and purchasing of erotic stories.

As erotic story readers, you’ll already have your own feelings about the kinds of story that turn you on – and those that don’t. You’ll have also figured out the number of characters you like in your stories, the mischief they get up to. Your favourite writers – or new ones that are crying out to reach new audiences – may not have a clue about how best to make you aware of their new releases available to you.

You’re here because you love erotic stories. So why not take 10 minutes of your time to make yourself heard?! Grab yourself a glass of wine, get comfy and put your thinking cap on. Let’s talk about smut! 

The survey is COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS – deliberately so – in order that you can be completely candid in your responses. Nothing less than total honesty will do, otherwise it’s a pointless exercise for everyone.

The survey has been designed to the same standards as a professionally commissioned research project, and key findings will be shared on this blogsite (there might even be some nice fancy charts too!). 

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN THE SURVEY (it’s on Survey Monkey, a professional and highly regarded marketing research survey and hosting site).

UPDATE OCTOBER 2013:Please note that the survey will only accept one full survey response per device (ie, laptop, smartphone, etc.  There have been some problems encountered when trying to complete the survey on smartphones,  so if you want to do the survey, it's recommended you use a more stable platform such as a desktop/laptop personal computer. 

If you’ve got any questions about the survey, then be sure to send me a Tweet and I’ll respond ASAP.

Cheers, and have a great weekend!

AB

Boobs, Balls (odd-shaped) and Boners

Hello again naughty smut readers! Doesn’t the week fly by?!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Mine largely consisted of watching six brilliant opening games to the Six Nations Rugby championship. Hmm… rugby: the smell of Deep Heat, chunky thighs, big muscl…..er that’s quite enough of that for now, hehe! Maybe I should write some rugger-related romps over the next few weeks? I’ve got a cracking title in my head already…

Anyway, as for the week ahead, this will be spent mostly doing the things that I wanted done over the past few days. Catch-up already, lol. The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions, it seems. Mind you, AC/DC always maintained that Hell Ain’t A Bad Place to Be, so I’ll take comfort from that. 

So, getting all the first eight naughty stories up onto Smashwords is the primary objective. I’m sure it’ll be like Amazon; once the first couple are under the belt without any issues, it’s pretty standard stuff. At least I hope so! Some news releases need firing out as well.

Finally, there is the Erotica Reader Survey, which should be up in the next couple of days. There’s just a few more questions I’m slipping in, then it’s a matter of uploading and programming into Survey Monkey. Of course being in the marketing research biz truly does help out in this regard: not just doing it, but writing about it (albeit filthily)!

I’ll digress, but if you’re a reader of erotica, erotic romance, or just plain good wholesome smut, call it what you will, then your thoughts and opinions truly matter. Watch out for a separate post on this in the next few days along with the survey link. Some of the main results will be uploaded for everyone to see, and maybe a few interesting ones from the juicy crosstabs too.

As ever, comments and feedback on any of the posts, and my stories (buy now, ker-ching!!) are most welcome, and don’t be shy, say hi on Twitter too.

Here’s to surviving the week….in the sexiest way possible!



AB

'Tits & Ass: Where Are They?'

Bright garish fonts.

Short tartan mini-skirts.

Miniscule bikinis failing miserably to conceal a curvy woman’s huge bazookas.

Titles such as “I Rammed the Babysitter” which leave nothing to the imagination.

Is this really what selling erotica is about? 

We’ve all heard about the major increase in erotica sales thanks to both the impact of Fifty Shades of Grey AND mobile ebook reading, whether dedicated readers such as Kindles, or iPads, Tablets and smartphones.

We’re also led to believe that a big factor in erotic ebook sales is the perceived anonymity afforded by these devices. Who needs to blush in Waterstones or Barnes & Noble anymore when buying smut, when it can be downloaded at home to your heart’s content?

But what’s the point in using a Kindle HD or iPad hoping for some inconspicuous smut reading on the train only for the front cover to completely give the game away to anyone in the immediate vicinity? Busted!

Think of the covers used in Fifty Shades... Are there any gratuitous T&A or images of a young lass being trussed up in BDSM gear? No. Nor is there on the plethora of novels released shortly after, such as those from Sylvia Day et al. Funny that. Coincidence?

Search the Erotica titles on Amazon. The subsequent results are awash with covers – and titles – that are less than subtle. Of course, not every cover is exactly the same, but enough similarities exist. 

Is this really what:-

a) appeals to consumers 

b) drives sales 

c) accurately reflects the quality of writing ? 

I don’t think so. 

Again, “Fifty Shades..” easily demonstrated that relatively crude cover designs are not essential for commercial success. Indeed, maybe their very absence is a key selling point, thus increasing the acceptability of the books among an increasingly important market segment.

But not following the herd is a surefire way to generate some attention. In fact, it’s a classic marketing maxim. The smart cookies realise that in a growing – if not already saturated - market the clever money is on seeing what everyone else is doing – and doing the exact opposite.

This was exactly the strategy I chose when launching my first brace of erotic stories. For the ‘Crash! Bang! Wallop!’ stories I wanted not only to make a visual impact on the Amazon search results (And they do! See for yourself.) but I also wanted to create a  recognisable identity for the fictitious London marketing research agency my stories are set in. You could easily imagine a website and the usual company-wide paraphernalia – letterheads, notepads, business cards – all festooned with the black background and multi-coloured logo. And hopefully, help transport you into the world of focus groups, interviews and all the associated office antics – and politics – that sets the scene for the subsequent romps.

Similarly, the first three titles in the London Lovers’ Ground series have a consistent colour-themed background and typeface. And not one pair of buttocks or boobies to be seen. And this is going to remain the case for all subsequent stories published.

Consistency is a HUGE deal in any branding programme. And make no mistake: unless you plan to be a one-book author with no intentions of publishing any more, then there needs to be that consistency. Amongst all the competing books out there, consistent branding is one of your best friends. For authors, it sets their books apart from the relatively disjointed competition, when they have a salvo of books adhering to the same layout principles, typefaces, colours, etc.

For prospective customers it immediately projects professionalism and consistency. In a fast moving, ever changing marketplace like the erotic fiction market, customers appreciate familiarity. They don’t get that if each subsequent title from an author features different people, colours, typefaces.

But wait a moment: is this perhaps just some misguided sense of marketing idealism, or even simple design snobbery?

Well, that’s where I’d like you to come in. I REALLY want to hear YOUR thoughts on this matter. Please post your comments below on this and encourage others to think and participate too.

Hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of the matter once and for all over the next few weeks, with the launching of the Erotica Reader Survey. Cover design is one of the areas in which smut-lovers will be asked for their opinions. Stay close to the blog over the next few days as there will be a posting with full details and survey link appearing shortly.

AB